6 Books On Inspiring Women In Science

Headstrong highlights the life stories of 52 incredible women - from Nobel Prize winners to inventors and innovators; all inspiring women scientists who paved the way and have very much influenced our every day.

It is incredible to note that for the past 100+ years, there have been more than 300 Nobel Prize science winners but only a tiny percentage (less than 10%) of those have been women. Bertsch McGrayne explores this by covering the lives and achievements of 15 female scientists including Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin and details the challenges they faced.

In Blazing the Trail: Essays by Leading Women in Science, 35 highly successful physicists, engineers, and chemists share their own stories, lessons they learned along the way and their hopes for the next generation of female scientists. An eye-opening read for all.

A wonderfully illustrated, inspiring and New York Times best-selling book, Women in Science highlights the contributions of 50 women from the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) throughout history up to today. Profiles include Jane Goodall and Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

A fascinating read. In the 1800s, Harvard College Observatory began employing women as “human computers” to interpret observations which their male peers had made via telescope each night (these men were their fathers, friends, partners, brothers etc but soon the work extended to women graduates). As photography got developed, the role of these women graduated into the study of the stars which were captured each night on glass photographic plates (The “Glass Universe.”)

With actual excerpts from letters and diaries, this book charts the hidden history of these women and their contributions which undoubtedly shaped what we know about astronomy today.

In this revised 25th anniversary edition, acclaimed writer Vivian Gornick interviews a myriad of women scientists, comparing some of the original interviewees’ experience from 25 years ago to now, and what has changed in that time (namely how much women scientists have overcome and achieved).

An inspiring read for all those who wish to learn the history of science and how far we have come.

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What books have we missed? Please feel free to comment below with your suggestions and we will add them in.